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How To Stop Junk Mail At Home And Office:Even though I now do most of my business online, I am still amazed how much physical mail gets delivered to my mailbox.

In an effort to reduce my waste at home and stop the unnecessary paper mail I receive to my home and my business. Here are the five tactics I personally do on how to stop junk mail at home and work and now I want to share them with you.

CREDIT CARD OFFERS:Call 1-888-567-8688 (888-5OPT-OUT) or visit http://www.optoutprescreen.comYou can remove yourself for a five-year period or a permanent removal. Credit card companies you already do business with you can request to be added to there "in house" list so your information will not be sold or traded. Your Social Security Number and Date of Birth are not required to process your request. However, providing this information will help to ensure that we can successfully process your request. This website's security protocols and features are designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access or alteration.

DIRECT MAIL SOURCES:Do you still get ValPak coupons in the mail and never use them? How about from Bed, Bath & Beyond or Red Plum retail coupons? These publications never have coupons I use so I was happy to see they now offer online forms for me to unsubscribe from receiving these mailers. Occasionally I receive these coupons in the previous owners name. Use these two links to remove yourself and your address from their lists. https://www.redplum.com/tools/direct-mail-preferenceshttps://www.valpak.com/coupons/show/mailinglistsuppressionTo get off other direct mail sources, it’s important to remove your name exactly how it appears on their list. Every variation of your name and address is another name on a list. These different variations get sold to thousands of businesses.To keep track of all the variations, cut out the mailing labels from the mail piece and pop them into an envelope until you are ready to contact the company. Write the company information on the envelope (address and phone number of listed on the mailer). When you are ready to contact the company, either attach each label or rewrite your details EXACTLY as it appears on the label, put your signature beside each name variation with the following verbiage: "Please remove my name and address from your mailing lists and do not rent, sell or trade my name or address."This method is definitely not quick and requires more effort and money on your part. Snail mail is not free.

WARRANTY CARDS:I recently learned that I do not have to fill out the warranty card for stuff I buy in order to benefit form the warranty. Be sure to read the fine print first, but in most cases you are not required to return the registration card to validate a warranty. Registration and warranty cards are another way companies collect your data which they may sell or use to send direct mailers. If you must fill out a return form that includes your mailing address or make a purchase over the phone, BE SURE to also includes these VERY important words: “Please do not rent, sell, or trade my name or address."

DOWNLOADS & CONTESTS:When you see and offer for a free download, contest or giveaway it is usually the companies attempt to obtain your name for mailing lists or to sell you something. If you do sign up for one, be sure to use those very important words.I download free ebooks alot (more than I would like to admit) and there is never a space for me to type the words “Please do not rent, sell, or trade my name or address." so at a later date when their follow-up email or contact does arrive [because it always does], I simply use the unsubscribe option from the email or contact them separately and type those words in email.

CATALOGS:I call the number on the catalog and tell them I am no longer interested in receiving their printed version. If they have an online version, I will happily accept it.

I hope this helps you stop junk mail at home and work and curb the amount of unnecessary mail you receive. The less paper we waste, the more trees we can enjoy.Do you have a trick that you use to reduce getting junk mail? Please share it with me, I am always happy to learn more about reducing my waste.

Why put more metal in our lives when it’s not necessary.You've probably heard that it’s not good to use antiperspirant deodorant because of the aluminum,but what about aluminum foil and food?

Studies have been done that “clearly indicate that the use of aluminum foil for cooking contributes significantly to the daily intake of aluminum through the cooked foods. The amount of leaching was found to be high in acidic solutions, and even higher with the addition of spices.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the obtained values considered to be unacceptable.Finally, excessive consumption of aluminum from leaching aluminum foil has an extreme health risk effects.Aluminum foil may be used for packing but not for cooking.” http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol7/7054498.pdf

Although aluminum foil can be recycled, it must be clean of debris to be recycled properly.When used for grilling or baking in the oven, it’s often impossible to remove all the cooked on food.Many times aluminium foil is used to line pans to make clean up easy.

Here are some replacement options for disposable aluminum foil:

Parchment paper

Silicone mat

Grill basket

Cookie Sheet - for cooking or inverted to make a casserole dish cover

Cast Iron Pan

Other Food - use sturdy veggies like potatoes, onions or lemons to cook on

Stainless Steel Grill Basket

Stainless Steel Grilling Dome

Aluminum is a non-renewable resource so use it wisely and reuse it whenever possible.Better yet, use one of the Aluminum foil alternatives listed above for the oven and grill. They options are safer, more eco-friendly, easy to acquire and implement.

Imagine how difficult it is for you to go zero-waste at home. Now, think about all the items in a grocery store. Stores have much more of a variety of products, many more areas to consider when trying to reduce their waste.

Finally, a supermarket in the USA receives the Zero-Waste Designation from EPA.Just announced, the Giant Food Store at 481 West Penn Ave. in Cleona, Pa., is the chain’s first store to attain U.S. Environmental Protection Agency zero-waste status. They still have waste but it’s what they do with the waste that matters. The EPA zero-waste designation signifies that 90% or more of the store’s total waste is being diverted from a landfill or incineration.

“There are a lot of little things we do that get the customers excited and help us drive down waste at the same time,” said Andrea Doygun, manager of the Giant store in Cleona, PA. “For example, we clean the empty frosting containers from the bakery as well as corn crates from produce and put them out for our customers to take them home and reuse them. Every little thing counts.”

Today, I write this article to help the store celebrate this milestone but also to help you.

Many times in the past, I have been asked about my laundry room routine. One main part I like to highlight is the “soaking bucket” I often use.

It’s a 3-gallon bucket I acquired from my local Winn Dixie bakery many years ago.

It stays in my laundry room, right next to the washing machine.

When I have an item that needs attention for stain removal or soaking, I drop the item into this bucket, which is dry, and there the items stays until I am ready to deal with it.

This bucket is super handy!When I am ready to address the stain, I take the item out of the bucket, fill the bucket with warm water and add a few tablespoons of my Laundry Booster (aka oxygenated bleach), dropping the item back into the bucket to soak overnight. Usually I will pretreat a stain with a little of my laundry soap and then drop it in. Why overnight?Oxygenated bleach works WAAAAY better the longer it can work. Most of us were introduced to oxygenated bleach as a laundry booster. Tossing a few tablespoons into the washing machine is ok, but it really doesn't allow the product to work as well as it could. Much like trading a $20.00 bill for a $5.00 bill. Not the best thing to do, although you still end up with cash. As with many natural products, the longer that ingredients are allowed to work, the better they work. an item can soak in the dissolved oxygenated bleach, the better the stain removal, whitening or brightening effect will be. Most chain bakeries receive frosting/icing in 3-or-5 gallon buckets. Most will give you them for free and you simply rinse out all the leftover frosting at home. I was happy to see that Giant Food Store is rinsing them out before giving them away. I can tell you from my personal experience that blue icing is a bitch and takes forever to rinse out! I can only imagine what that blue icing does to the inside of my body when I eat it….uggghhhhh!

So, if you are looking to improve your laundry routine, simplify your stain removal process or give yourself a place to easily soak/whiten fabrics; the bucket is a must.Pick one up today and tuck it in a convenient place in your laundry room. Mine sits wedged between the washer and the wall, eagerly awaiting dirty stuff.

Looking to make eco improvements in your life? Consider taking advantage of some of these easy, everyday tips. As you continue on your journey down the road to sustainable living, these tips will be come habits. The following 8 easy tip to sustainable living are all excellent examples of what it's like to live the lifestyle.

1. Make your own cleaning solution out of lemon juice, vinegar and warm water. It cleans almost anything and is completely safe. Don’t care for the smell of vinegar? Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to the mix.

2. Food for thought. Plan your weekly meals based on what you already have at home. Dig in your cupboards and pull out the “forgotten” cans and bags of goodies. Using what you have cuts down on food waste and saves money on a weekly basis. Have a garden or a few gardening pots? Try your hand at growing one or two easy things. Fresh food tastes amazing! Start with easy-to-grow plants like a plum tomatoes, basil, lettuces….or any herbs you enjoy. Have kids at home? Grow radishes and carrots. They are fun to watch, abundant and grow quickly. If you have a garden space in your yard, take full advantage of it. If you are like me and don't prefer to garden bent over, look into aeroponic growing. I highly use a Tower Garden and have the opportunity to grow 28 different plants all within a self-contained watering system. Remember, it’s not necessary to eat meat every day of the week.

3. Use rainwater to water plants. During the rainy months, I set a small trash outside my back porch door to collect rainwater and use it when it fills. I add the rainwater to our Tower Garden, feed the indoor plants and occasionally use it too fill up the bird baths. They love fresh water too!

4. Watch your water usage and drop a brick. There are a number of ways to reduce water use in the home, like shorter showers, low-flow faucets and showerheads, but there's another place where a small action can make a big difference. According to the EPA, more water is used by Americans each day to flush toilets than any other activity (at home), so drastically reducing the amount of clean municipal water that gets flushed away each day will really add up! Place a brick in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water necessary to flush.5. Purchase a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air. A HEPA filter is a type of mechanical air filter; it works by forcing air through a fine mesh that traps harmful particles such as pollen, pet dander, dust mites, and tobacco smoke.

7. Use cloth grocery bags and reusable travel mugs. By now, youve heard about how single-use plastic waste is piling up on our planet and causing harm to our soil, waterways and oceans. We can live with less single-use plastic waste, it just takes a little pre planning on your part.

8. Say no to synthetic fragrances. Yes, they make your products smell delightful, but if you could see how synthetic fragrances were made, you'd be less likely to be impressed. One fragrance in one personal care product—say, your bodywash—can consist of as many as 200 chemicals combined to come up with that particular scent. The real problem with fragrance is the lack of knowing which chemicals make up that particular scent. On the ingredient list, you'll read only the word “fragrance.” Replace “fragrance” in your life with quality essential oils.

These 8 easy tips to sustainable living are just the tip of the melting ice caps. There are many more good options that I will share with you in future posts. You don't have to jump in head-first, making all these changes at once to make a difference. Many people practice this way of life on a small scale with huge success.

If this is something you're interested in trying, there's really no better time to jump in. You can apply this concept to virtually any part of your life, quite easily. Chances are your days will be more enjoyable and stress-free. What could be better than that?

Share with me ways you brought more sustainable habits into your life. I love hearing from you. We are on this beautiful planet together, let’s do our part - together!